Abstract

Anopheles jeyporiensis and Anopheles nivipes appear to play an important role in contemporary malaria transmission in Bangladesh. However, very little is known about the natural host selection of these vectors. Therefore, host selection of these two species was investigated in Bandarban, the most malarious region of Bangladesh. A total of 480 engorged mosquitoes were analyzed. The human blood index (HBI) of An. jeyporiensis varied from 4.17% in outdoor to 19.17% in indoor collections. Similarly, HBI of An. nivipes ranged between 0.83% and 22.50% from outdoor to indoor. For both species, cow blood indices were significantly higher than HBI in both indoor and outdoor collections. These data demonstrate the opportunistic and zoophilic nature of An. jeyporiensis and An. nivipes, which suggests that approaches such as zooprophylasis may prove beneficial as a control strategy.